The Postgraduate Financial Assistance Fund aims to provide support to current postgraduate students in unforeseen financial need, to enable them to complete their studies.
The Fund can provide awards of up to £3,000 to current full-time postgraduate students or £1,500 to current part-time postgraduate students who are experiencing unforeseen financial difficulties and meet the eligibility criteria.
The fund classifies unforeseen financial difficulties as a financial situation that could not have been otherwise predicted or expected and prepared for during your time at the University.
Students on intermission are ineligible to receive support from the fund and should look into other means of support such as College assistance.
Applications are carefully reviewed by the University Financial Assistance Sub-Committee and the application process is managed by the Student Funding and Fee Policy Team.
Students are welcome to apply to the fund between 1 October 2024 and 31 August 2025. The Fund is closed for the month of September.
Before you apply
Before applying to the fund, students should ensure they have applied to any Government, Funding Sponsor, College and Department resources that could assist them.
Applicants to the fund must be current registered postgraduate students of the University. The Financial Assistance Fund classifies current registered students as students who have not met their course requirements and who have not submitted their soft-bound thesis.
Applicants should have sought the maximum support from all available sources before applying. It is expected that if a student has access to a funder or a government supported, educational loan they will take out/extend this loan before applying for financial assistance from the University.
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Students must be matriculated (i.e. have a college) Postgraduate Students of the University of Cambridge, working towards their course requirements. Students studying for Award-Bearing courses with ICE who are not matriculated (i.e. do not have a College) are unfortunately not eligible for this fund. This is because most of these courses are under a year duration and the student should have appropriate finances as provided in their financial guarantee. In the same principle, matriculated students on a one-year course will not usually be eligible for these funds.
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Students on Intermission are not eligible for this fund.
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Students on the following courses are ineligible to apply to the fund:
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Non-award (degree) bearing courses at the Institute for Continuing Education
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Diplomas
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Postgraduate Certificate and Master of Studies, which are less than 9 months in length
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Higher Doctoral
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Students who have completed their course requirements, (i.e. submitted soft-bound thesis)
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Students who are within the last 6 weeks of their course.
- Students who are on intermission
- Students who have not made adequate financial provision prior to starting their studies
- Students with access to savings of over £1,000 or alternative funding which could meet their shortfall
- Students with high living costs above the indicative amounts from PG admissions of £18,660 for 2024-25, without acceptable justification
- Students who are fully funded by an internal sponsor at the University. Fully funded is defined to mean in receipt of maintenance funding higher or equal to the indicative living amount for 2024/25 (£18,660) and fully funded tuition fees. i.e. Harding scholars or those funded by a research council.
- Students in the first term of their course
- Students paying off debt or overdrafts
- Situations that were foreseen
- Situations that occurred before the current academic year
- Supporting family members or friends
- Tuition fees
- Medical costs
- College accommodation costs over the holidays, without an exceptional reason
- Childcare costs
- Visa costs
- Shortfalls higher than £4,000, where there is no viable plan to meet the rest of the shortfall
- Applicants who have received the maximum award this academic year of £3,000
- Costs that have already been mitigated against by a previous award from the fund
- Currency fluctuations are not supported, unless there is a currency collapse. Please see our FAQs for more information.
- Students studying for Award-Bearing courses with ICE who are not matriculated (i.e. do not have a College). This is because most of these courses are under a year duration and the student should have appropriate finances. In the same principle, matriculated students on a one-year course will not usually be eligible for these funds.
- Support for students undertaking a fourth year of PhD study is available to those who have been subject to an unforeseen circumstance, after they have exhausted all other funding options, including possible funding from College, Department or external sponsors. The fund views a fourth year of PhD study as a reasonable expectation of undertaking a PhD and will not fund fourth years for those who have not experienced an unforeseen circumstance, impacting their completion date.
- Applications must be supported by statements submitted by a College Tutor and Academic Supervisor that confirm they have spoken to the student about their financial circumstances.
- College Tutors will request to see evidence of financial documentation regarding income and expenditure to provide their supporting statement. This is to verify information and to ensure that students are accessing all avenues of support.
- Applications require a supportive Supervisor's statement, which details your course progress. For cases citing extensions to PhDs, students will need a detailed Supervisor's statement, which explains why an extension is necessary, what mitigations have been put in place and why they have not been sufficient.
A step-by-step process of how to apply for financial assistance
You can download an offline copy of the application form to practise. Please note that this is for practice only and the link to the online application form can be found below. Applications need to be submitted via the online form in step 2 and not via email.
Step 1. Assess which fund you are eligible for
Look at the website and see which fund you are eligible for and is best suited for your needs.
Step 2. Discuss the application with your College Tutor
Please find the online application form.
Step 3. Apply to the financial assistance fund online
Complete the relevant online application form in step 2 for the financial assistance funds.
Step 4. Support forms and support documents
Your College Tutor and potentially Academic Supervisor will be asked to complete supporting forms for your application.
Step 5. Receive your outcome
You will receive an outcome via email at the end of the month after you submit your application. For most funds, the award will be paid to your College within two weeks. For the Crane Medical Fund, a Tutor statement and receipts will have to be submitted at the end of the treatment to claim reimbursement of the award.
You will be notified of the results of your application at the end of the following month after you have applied to the fund*. For example if you applied to the fund in October 2025, you should expect to receive an outcome by the 30 November 2025. You will be notified of your outcome via email.
Please see the below table to clarify when you will receive an outcome
*Please note, in cases where we are waiting for additional information, or in busy periods the length of time to be notified of the outcome may be extended.
Am I eligible to apply for the fund?
Current postgraduate students, who have not submitted their soft-bound thesis are eligible to apply to the fund.
Unfortunately, the fund is unable to accept applications from non-matriculated students or students on the following courses:
- Non-award (degree) bearing courses at the Institute for Continuing Education
- Diplomas
- Postgraduate Certificate and Master of Studies, which are less than 9 months in length
- Higher Doctoral
How much support is available?
Eligible students can receive a grant of up to £3,000 (Full time) or £1,500 (Part Time) (2024/25 rate) per academic year to assist with unforeseen financial difficulties.
When can I apply to the fund?
Students can apply to the fund any time between 1 October 2024 and 31 August 2025.
How many times can I apply to the Postgraduate Financial Assistance Fund?
There is no limit on the amount of applications you can make to the fund. However, the maximum amount that can be awarded per academic year is £3,000 (full-time students) or £1,500 (for part-time students) (2024/25 rate). If you have already received awards totalling the maximum award in an academic year, you will be ineligible to receive further funding.
Who do I contact regarding my application?
The Student Funding and Fee Policy Team manage the administration of the Postgraduate Financial Assistance Fund. Please contact them at financialassistance@admin.cam.ac.uk
How do I find out what is happening with my application?
To check on the progress of your application, please contact financialassistance@admin.cam.ac.uk
How will my application be assessed?
We will assess your expected income against reasonable expenditure and annual indicative rates for living costs. Additionally, we will consider your application against our eligibility criteria and your CAMSIS record to determine if an award can be made.
When/how will I hear my outcome?
You will be notified of the results of your application at the end of the following month after you have applied to the fund. For example if you applied to the fund in October 2025, you should expect to receive an outcome at the end of November 2025. You will be notified of your outcome via email.
Please see the below table to clarify when you will receive an outcome.
How will I receive my award?
Awards are paid to your College and your College will then reimburse you.
What is my payment reference?
This is made up of: Fund, USN and last name e.g. PG FAF 123456789 Smith
How do I appeal a decision?
If you are unhappy with the outcome you receive, please contact your College Tutor and/or Academic Supervisor in the first instance. Appeals can then be directed to the Student Funding Manager at financialassistance@admin.cam.ac.uk.
I have appealed my outcome. When will I hear back about this?
If an outcome has been appealed, it is sent to the University Financial Assistance Sub-Committee for re-consideration. Unfortunately, we are unable to give an exact timeframe as to when the outcome of an appeal will be made.
I have additional information in support of my application. Where shall I send this?
Please send any additional supporting information, which has not been included in your application, to financialassistance@admin.cam.ac.uk
What is a currency collapse?
This is a devaluation of currency exchange rate of/or equal to 20% or more, when checked by the Student Funding and Fee Policy Team over the course of the last month. Preference will be given to students whose money is in a currency experiencing a devaluation of 50% or more, or those on a course with a duration longer than 12 months.
Where can I find out more about external funding?
A useful source of information for exploring funding opportunities from charities and voluntary organisations is the Alternative Guide to Postgraduate Funding. This is an external resource published independently by GradFunding. It provides a database of alternative funding opportunities from charities and trusts. It also gives advice about how to apply to them, including model personal and financial statements. The University has purchased a licence to the Guide, so it’s free for all students and staff to use.
Current Cambridge students and staff can use their University email address to register online for access to the Guide.